A number of innovative marketing strategies confront the consumer of amateur photography equipment. At least several film and camera manufacturers are marketing very inexpensive single use cameras. This type of camera generally employs plastic optical components mounted in a cardboard camera housing, which also contains a ready-to-shoot roll of film. Once the roll of film is exposed, the photographer takes the entire camera to any of a number of conveniently located processing facilities for film development. The camera itself is then either disposed of or recycled and sold anew as a disposable, single use camera.
The advent of recyclable, single use cameras has expanded the population of amateur photographers to include children and, also, casual photographers who no longer hesitate to use their camera in a hostile environment, such as underwater, for example, due to their inexpense. Single use cameras, however, typically lack carrying straps or other fixtures to aid in toting the camera around, and are quite unpretentious in appearance. While the lack of such features adds to the economy of production, their absence may impact the use of such cameras by amateur photographers of various age groups, particularly young children who do not like, or are unable, to hold onto objects for long periods and who are greatly influenced by the appearance of a thing regardless of its function.
Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide a carrying sleeve for a single use camera into which the camera can easily be inserted and removed, which is light, easy to carry, reusable, does not interfere with the practical use of the camera, and which helps to protect the camera if it is dropped or banged against another object.
It is another object of the invention to provide a reusable carrying sleeve for a single use camera that is decorative as well functional thus making it especially fun to use by photographers of various ages depending on the decorative appearance of the sleeve.
These and other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the descriptions and illustrations which follow.